DLC Week of 11/22: Linkin Park and The Offspring!

We’re Rewinding this week with songs from Linkin Park and The Offspring previously featured on Rock Band 2!

Linkin Park’s debut single “One Step Closer” kicks us off. Reaching the Billboard Hot 100 and hitting the Mainstream Rock and Modern Rock top 5, “One Step Closer” gave an immediate taste of what was to come from the band and their debut album Hybrid Theory. The song has had a long life, being the set closer at virtually every live Linkin Park performance for years following its release. The song remained a staple at live shows, and has become a fan favorite along the way. It’s a tough track on guitar that has hard chord progressions all over the song. The drums are also challenging, making for a great test on limb separation. Vocals will need a full range and plenty of breath control to pin down the held notes that drop right into talky lines.

“Come Out and Play (Keep ‘Em Separated)” marks the first single from The Offspring’s breakthrough album, Smash. Smash was a very big hit (it’s sold over 11 million copies to date), as was “Come Out and Play (Keep ‘Em Separated)”, which topped the Billboard Alternative Songs chart. Dexter Holland, lead singer of The Offspring, has proven to be a true Renaissance man, with a pilot’s license used to fly around the world, his own brand of hot sauce, and even a dang Bachelor of Science in biology AND a master’s in molecular biology. He does many things, and he does them well. Heading back to sweet Rock Band tracks, the surf rock feel from guitar sets “Come Out and Play (Keep ‘Em Separated)” just slightly apart from their harder punk material of the time, and makes for a fun chart to play, calling for a lot of focus. You’ll need stamina for the drums, it’s straightforward but it’s fast.